“Yesh Music (Richard Cupolo and John Emanuele) filed a complaint on October 28, 2011, claiming that First Baptist Church Smyrna (TN) used two of Yesh’s compositions in videos streamed from their website. The complaint also details Yesh’s assertion that no license was granted for this use. Yesh is seeking $150,000 for each infringement in addition to attorneys’ fees.”

When I said the penalties could be stiff, that was an understatement. There is the fine to consider. There is also the public relations nightmare of having your church in the news and in a lawsuit. Your church’s integrity will be tarnished.

The CCLI Copyright License covers projecting lyrics in worship, song sheets and songbooks. You can record your worship services, provided it is live music (no accompaniment tracks). The CCLI Streaming License enables you to live stream or podcast live-recorded services. This does not cover secular songs. The CCLI Rehearsal License goes even further. See the CCLI website for details.

The prices for annual licenses are based on the size of your church. The base license ranges from $290 for a church of 200, and goes up to $602 for a church of 2000. The streaming is an additional $89 and $223 respectively.

These are fair prices and help support the original artists. If you don’t get a license, you are stealing from the artists. Get the license that fits your need and be legal!

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For over 35 years, David has served churches from 1,000 to 8,000 members. As well as being a pastor, David is a spiritual entrepreneur. He founded XPastor as a global ministry tool for leaders of churches of all sizes. XPastor provides a website, an XP-Newsletter, the annual XP-Seminar, workshops, and online courses.